


The Roads We Choose

by Morning66



Category: Scooby Doo - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Family, Gen, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:40:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24526264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morning66/pseuds/Morning66
Summary: It's nine in the morning in Arizona (or New Mexico) when Daphne calls her mom on a dusty pay phone.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	The Roads We Choose

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This basically uses Daphne’s family from Mystery Incorporated, but doesn’t necessarily take place during that incarnation. :)

Daphne calls her mother on a gas station pay phone at nine in the morning while Shaggy and Scooby attempt to rustle up food and Velma and Fred pour over a map, debating what state they're in. As she waits for her mom to pick up, the phone ringing in her ear like a death knell, she twists the cord and stares out at the dusty, barren landscape. She'd put her money on Arizona or possibly New Mexico, not that she knows much about geography.

She hasn't called home in two months, thousands of miles, and tens of monsters, which leaves a heavy, guilty feeling in her stomach that presses hard against her gut. While she broke her cell phone a few weeks ago by throwing it at a monster, it'd be a lie to say that's why she's avoided calling. It's more that she knows what her parents think of the life she's chosen and doesn't want to hear it again in pleading, angry voices.

Delilah had pleaded with her to call their mother last week on Velma's phone, somewhere in Oklahoma. She'd successfully guilted Daphne into calling and also successfully made her wish she'd never given her sister Velma's number as a backup. Daphne picks the dust-covered pay phone that probably hasn't been used in years instead of Velma's Android to make this call because she doesn't want her mother to have a traceable number, a way to contact her ad nauseam.

Nan Blake picks up on the fifth ring, just as a tumbleweed rolls by. "Blake household. Who is this?"

Her mother's voice is the same as Daphne remembers it from their last call two months ago and from when she lived at home. Polite, but clipped and cool and aloof in a way that, despite effort, Daphne has never been able to replicate.

"It's me, Mom. Daphne." She clarifies, as if her mom might not recognize her voice.

There's a pause and Daphne wraps the cord around her hand once, twice, three times. Then, her mother speaks, confusion evident in her voice. "This isn't your phone number. I have that programmed in my cell."

_Well, hi to you too, Mom._

"I accidentally broke it," Daphne replies, conveniently leaving out _how_ she broke it. "This is a pay phone."

"I didn't know they still existed," her mother says, derisively. "Why haven't you bought another one? I gave you a credit card for a reason, dear."

"I will soon, Mom. We just haven't had time."

Daphne doesn't tell her mom that she hasn't used the credit card nestled in her thousand dollar wallet because money is power and power is control. It's a lesson she learned young, that those who have money are like wizards, waving a magic wand (or wad) and making the world do their bidding. If she starts using the credit card, she'll be indebted to her parents and, sooner or later, they'll want something she can't, or isn't willing, to give.

"Where exactly are you, Daphne?" Nan Blake's voice sounds exasperated.

Daphne looks around at the bleak, desolate landscape, the gas station that looks like it saw its better days decades ago. The old man she can see through the glass manning the counter, all tired eyes and dusty overalls. This is nowhere her mother would ever set foot.

"Arizona," Daphne answers, summoning all the confidence she can. "Phoenix."

Her mother sighs and Daphne knows they're about to have a talk they've had a hundred different times, in a hundred different places.

"Come home, Daph. Please. It's about time."

"Mom-"

"You father and I, we miss you. I know college wasn't for you, but there's other options. So many of the women at my charity galas have eligible sons." Her mom's voice tilts up at the end, a hint of romance, a joke between girls that Daphne wants no part of.

"Mom, I've told you, I'm not ready to get married." She's only twenty years old, for Christ's sake.

"Is it because of the Jones boy? You know that's not the kind of family you want to marry into." Her mother's distaste of Fred is evident in her tone.

Daphne stares over at Fred, fifty feet away, leaning against the Mystery Machine, turning a map upside down as if that'll help him figure out where they are. Even now, Daphne has to admit he's cute, with his blonde hair and blue eyes, but that's not why she's here. It hasn't been for years, not since she was barely more than a child. Maybe it was Fred's dreamy eyes and bright smile that drew her to this life, but that's not what kept her here through all the monsters and sleepless nights and days without changing clothes.

"No, Mom, this isn't about Fred. I like this life! It's my choice, Mom."

There's pause and she can feel a storm brewing, a change in the air that indicates her mom is about to lose her temper.

"Listen to me, young lady." Her mom's voice has turned from cool to cold, frustrated to angry. "You are getting a bit too old to do what you _like_. You're not a child anymore and you have to think of the Blake Legacy!"

Daphne bites back a remark about why having five other Blake girls upholding their family legacy isn't enough. She doesn't want to escalate this fight any more. "Mom, my time's almost up, okay? We'll talk later."

"Don't you have enough money for the pay phone?" Her mother demands.

Daphne doesn't answer the question. The truth is she does have it, but would rather use the quarters at the next coin-operated laundromat they find than to continue this conversation. "Bye, Mom! I love you!"

She doesn't wait for a reply before hanging up, too scared her mom won't say it back. Leaning against the wall of the gas station, Daphne rubs her eyes. _Well, that went well. I'll have to call Delilah and tell her I told her so._

"Like, you okay there, Daph?" She turns to see Shaggy hovering near her, Scooby, as always, at his heels. Between the two of them, they're carrying probably enough food for a week, though none of it looks even vaguely like what someone might eat for breakfast.

"Yeah, I'm good, Shag," Daphne assures him.

She sees doubt in his face, but he's too kind to press. "Cool! Well, I think we're getting on the road again soon. And we've got to get eating all this grub, right old buddy, old pal?" Shaggy directs the last part toward Scooby.

"Right, Raggy!"

Daphne follows them towards the van, blinking back a few tears that threatened to appear earlier. If anyone notices, she'll say it's the dust was aggravating her sensitive eyes. Anyway, there's nothing to cry about. The road stretches before them, filled with monsters and fun and intrigue and friends. It may not be the road her parents expected her to follow, but it's the one she chose to.


End file.
